The local government system (LGS) in Pakistan has never been a permanent feature of a political system. It has been adopted on ad hoc basis by certain key players to use it for their own vested interests.

Currently, all four provinces of Pakistan are running without a local government system despite the fact that the country has had elected provincial and federal governments for more than a decade. This speaks volumes of the misplaced priorities in the country.

The importance of effective social services delivery at the grassroots level cannot be overemphasised. The local governments serve as a nursery for those aspiring for public service to develop political skills and wisdom. Local governments have always proved cost-effective in managing water supply and sanitation, garbage collection, sewerage, road maintenance and street lights etc.

In the absence of a local government system, provincial governments are forced to intervene in the administration of these services often with mixed results on account of the citizen-authority disconnect. Moreover, the provincial governments are not designed for these services.

Local elections have yet to take place in any of the four provinces despite frequent reminders from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The ECP has directed the provincial governments to provide basic documents like details of constituency delimitations, necessary notifications, census blocks for religious minorities, rules, maps, amendments in election legislation but to no avail.

The ECP has serious reservations over lack of compliance of these directives on the part of the provinces. This is a sad commentary on the democratic processes in the country.

The local government system has frequently been on the back burner, particularly under the elected governments in the provinces. The principal reason for this appears to be an urge on the part of provincial governments not to yield any powers to local government institutions. It is for the same reason that local government elections are delayed on one pretext or the other. Let’s review the current situation in the four provinces.

The four-year term for the elected local government institutions in Sindh expired in August 2020. The ECP has asked the provincial government for details of the amendments in Local Government Act 2013, delimitations and other necessary documents.

A major chunk of the local governments’ budget has been consumed by the provincial government. Pakistan Peoples Party, otherwise a staunch supporter of democracy, has allowed only limited space to local governments in Sindh. The performance of the local bodies over the past four years was not up to the mark.

The recent monsoon rains played havoc with the civic infrastructure, particularly in the urban Sindh. This clearly showed that the local governments were not performing their basic functions including garbage collection, water supply and sanitation. The role of local governments in post-disaster relief and early recovery services and reconstruction is of prime importance. The Sindh government is now seen delaying the elections on the pretext of coronavirus. Most analysts believe that the real reasons behind the delay are political.

The Punjab government too is not paying attention to this matter. It is constantly ignoring reminders from the election commissioner for the homework needed for holding the elections.

The situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is not much different. The local governments in KP completed their terms in August 2019. Going by the law, elections to replace them should have taken place by December 27, 2019. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government too, has yet to decide about delimitations. Also, despite a reminder from the ECP, the KP government has yet to enact some amendments in the Khyber Pakhtunkwa Local Government (Amendment) Act, 2019.

Almost one year on, the KP government has yet to show the kind of seriousness needed to hold local government elections. Instead, the provincial governor has issued an ordinance to postpone the LG elections for two years. This ordinance solicited scathing criticism from the ECP which declared it a violation of the local government law and the Election Act, 2017. The kind of delaying tactics being used are a serious blow to the democratic prospects of the PTI government which has ruled the province since 2013.

Local governments in Balochistan completed their term in January 2019. The current government appears least concerned in holding the elections. The delimitation work was discontinued following an order by Balochistan High Court. However, the Election Commission has issued orders to the provincial government to legislate on the provisions of Balochistan Local Government Act 2010 that are in conflict with the Election Act 2017. The court has also asked for a copy of the amended LG rules. The matter drags on.

The PTI government in the Punjab has sounded very enthusiastic about holding the elections but its eagerness has been limited to lip service. It is still far from announcing a date for the elections. The local government system in the Punjab was abolished through a notification in May 2019, long before end of its term. The government then introduced two pieces of legislation: the Punjab Local Government Act 2019 and the Punjab Village Panchayats and Neighborhood Councils Act 2019.

The government has been ignoring the reminders from the Election Commission for the homework needed to hold the elections.

It may be concluded that local government elections are not in sight in any of the four provinces. This is not a good omen for democracy.

The writer is a development practitioner and a freelance journalist. He can be reached at zubairtahseen.sh@gmail.com)